As of December 1, 2015, USEF is requiring all horses who show at USEF licensed shows have proof of Flu and Rhino vaccinations within the past six months. Here's the actual text of the rule:

​GR845 Equine Vaccination Rule

1. At Federation licensed competitions, horses entering the grounds must be accompanied by documentation of Equine Influenza Virus and Equine Herpes Virus (Rhinopneumonitis) vaccinations within six months prior to entering the stables. Horses not in compliance with this rule may be required to leave the competition grounds upon request by Competition Management.

​Documentation should consist of one of the following methods mentioned below. The frequency of vaccine administration should be per the vaccine manufacturers’ or veterinarian’s recommendations. It is recommended that vaccines are administered by or under the direction of a veterinarian.

2. In the case of vaccines administered by a veterinarian, the exhibitor, upon request by Competition Management, must provide documentation from the veterinarian on documenting that the horse in question received the vaccinations; name of the vaccines and date of vaccine administration.

3. In the case of vaccines administered by a person other than a veterinarian, the exhibitor, upon request by Competition Management, must provide a receipt of the vaccine purchase which is signed by the owner, or agent with care, custody, and control of the horse; name, serial number and expiration date of the vaccine; and date of vaccine administration.

4. In the case of a horse that is unable to receive either of the vaccinations due to a history of adverse reactions, the exhibitor, upon request by Competition Management, must provide a letter from the veterinarian on official letterhead stating that the horse in question cannot be vaccinated due to medical concerns and a log of temperatures taken twice daily for the seven days prior to entering the competition grounds. These horses must also have their temperature taken and logged twice daily while on the competition grounds. The log of temperatures should be provided to the Competition Management, steward, or technical delegate when requested.

5. Competition Management may not amend or enhance vaccination requirements without prior approval of the Veterinary Committee.

​BOD 1/17/15 Effective 12/1/15.

In the current rule book, last updated 8/1/15, there is no GR845. It's a new rule that will go into effect with the 2016 show season. You can see the 2016 rule book here with the new rule in place.

Izzy's spring visit.

I don't have a problem with the rule change, but it will make things more expensive for me. Unless there is a special concern, I don't typically give fall versions of Flu and Rhino. My little herd of two lives with another little herd of two who rarely leaves the property.

If anything, it is my two with whom everyone should be concerned. I travel quite regularly and expose my horses to all kinds of stuff and then bring it back to our quiet little ho hum facility of four stalls. I guess I really should vaccinate them twice a year - for everyone else's sake.

The new rule means that I will have now have to go to the vet at least twice a year. In the spring, my boys always get their annual vaccinations as well as have their teeth done. They also get a general all-over check and we do fecal counts. In the fall, I usually just take a poop sample to the vet and they call me with the results.

Since I might show in the early spring, I'll need more recent proof of having administered both vaccines. We did them last in March of this year. Ah well, it's not like it's a huge burden, but it does mean several hours of driving across town and back. My vet's ranch call charge is a lot more than the price for a gallon or two of gas. And since my barn is so small, it's not like there are a bunch of us needing him for the same thing.

I thought I had avoided a November vet visit. I guess I was wrong; we're going today.

Urgh. Another thing to mail in. Maybe? Or is it a "if we ask for it, you better have it" type thing? Plus the keeping track of the shots part. I'm only good at keeping track of my horse's coggins because I can print it out online and we pull coggins as close to Jan 1 as we can, so it's easy to remember when it was done.

We always get those fall shots since so many of our horses travel, however I don't think we comply with the 6 month rule (we go 5-7 months between them I think). I will have to forward on to Trainer because many more of us will be competing in USEF sanctioned shows in 2016. I wonder if the vaccines are effective if you do them in Jan/July? They'd be on schedule with our Coggins if you can. I don't know why I think they wouldn't be, probably because we think of them as spring and fall and that's winter and summer!

I am not sure how show secretaries are going to manage it. They'll either go hog wild requiring all sorts of documentation or simply sweep it all under the rug and assume everyone is covered.

I always do my spring shots during Easter break which varies from March to April. I always have Veterans Day off so that is a good vet day, but I have the same problem with the every six months things. November is going to be too late for September/October shows and now my horses won't be due until May. I think I'll call this morning and make sure I can still do my March/April visit without over-dosing their systems.

Yupp, pain in the butt. I'm going to guess show management will sweep it under the rug, unless they get rumors of horses not vaccinated. Or they'll do "spot checks" of horses that get pulled for drug testing.

I will make sure I comply though, and have the documents in my show trunk with my coggins. Which I now need a better organizational method because I used to keep a copy of my coggins folded up in a random box, and that won't do if I need a couple pieces of paper. I'd put it in my truck & trailer's registration/insurance holder, except often the horse goes without the truck.

When I first started showing, I used a folder to keep track of stuff, but two years ago I graduated to a binder with dividers and sheet protectors. It has made my life so much simpler.

I have tabs for show entries/stabling/day sheets, health documents, copies of my membership cards (I make a bunch at one time so I have them ready when I enter a show), a section for contacts, and so on.

When I go to the vet today, I'll have him print out the proof of vaccination and then make a handful of copies to add to the binder.

I give my horses their shots myself. I purchase them at our local feed store. The first time , I asked the Vet to show me, thereafter I've done it by myself. It's much easier than you think. The shots themselves are about the same price, but the savings of time and driving is what I appreciate . since I also vaccinate for strangles and west nile, the Vet does those along with their annual check up.

Hi Carol! I used to give all of my own vaccinations too. In the last few years however, it has proven more "cost effective" to pay the vet to do it. By paying for these small things, I get quicker access to my vet over the phone because we have a more one on one relationship.

I also need proof of vaccinations for a variety of other things (a barn where I lesson occasionally). It's just easier to get a print out from my vet rather than keep copies of receipts and try to explain which one goes for which horse.

I also used to have a gelding who would get really funky after his injections, and I thought it was my technique. It wasn't, but now I just have the vet do it so that all the responsibility is on him.

Since I can afford the visits, I just go ahead and do it even though I could save some money by doing them myself. It's one of those things where the fringe benefits outweigh the cost of the vaccinations. :0)

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jenj

11/11/2015 07:42:00 am

Yeah... for me the new rules mean a summer vet visit since we do Coggins and vaccinations between Christmas and New Years. Oh well... we usually end up needing to have the vet out several times per year anyway, so whatever. I need less accident-prone horses or something.

That's a very useful form! I have a vet booklet that I use (I know I blogged about it before, but I can't find the post) that has all of their memberships numbers, vet contact info, and a place to record treatment dates and what was done. I hope someone checks out your link as it might be the solution they need. I am printing it out for future reference!

The only problem with that is that I show for more than 6 months a year. Our weather is usually so mild that we can show all 12 months. :0)

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About the Writer & Rider

I am a lifetime rider. I began endurance riding in 1996 where I ultimately completed five, one-day 100 mile races, the 200-mile Death Valley Encounter, and numerous other 50, 65, and 75 mile races. I began showing dressage in 2010.​Welcome to my dressage journey.

About Speedy G

Speedy went from endurance horse to dressage horse. We're currently schooling Third Level in preparation for the 2019 show season. Speedy is a 2004, 15'1 hand, purebred Arabian gelding. His Arabian Horse Registry name is G Ima Starr FA.

August 2018

About Izzy

Izzy was started as a four-year old and then spent the next 18 months in pasture growing up. I bought him as a six-year old, and together, we are schooling the dressage basics. He is a 2008, 16'3 hand warmblood gelding. His Rheinland Pfalz-saar International (RPSI) name is Imperioso.